US Senate Passes Fiscal Cliff Plan With Tax Hikes and No Cuts in Spending 89-8

Early this morning the US Senate passed a “fiscal cliff” plan that was all tax kikes and no spending cuts by a vote of 89-8. The only nay votes were Bennet (D-CO), Carper (D-DE), Grassley (R-IA), Harkin (D-IA), Lee (R-UT), Paul (R-KY), Rubio (R-FL), Shelby (R-AL). The following did not vote, DeMint (R-SC), Kirk (R-IL), Lautenberg (D-NJ). This bill was all taxes and no spending cuts. Hardly a balanced approach that was claimed by Obama. As reported at Breitbart, FISCAL CLIFF DEAL: $1 IN SPENDING CUTS FOR EVERY $41 IN TAX INCREASES!!!

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the last-minute fiscal cliff deal reached by congressional leaders and President Barack Obama cuts only $15 billion in spending while increasing tax revenues by $620 billion—a 41:1 ratio of tax increases to spending cuts.

The grossly imperfect billwas supposed to prevent the US from going over the so-called fiscal cliff; however, it does not grow the economy, lower the debt or prevent taxes on the middle class. Get ready middle class for an increase in taxes as the final deal did not include an extension of the payroll tax holiday.

Under the compromise arrangement, taxes would rise on income above $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for households, while exemptions and deductions the wealthiest Americans use to reduce their tax bill would face new limits. The accord would also raise the taxes paid on large inheritances from 35% to 40% for estates over $5 million. And it would extend by one year unemployment benefits for some two million Americans. It would also prevent cuts in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients and spare tens of millions of Americans who otherwise would have been hit with the Alternative Minimum Tax.

The middle class will still see its taxes go up: The final deal did not include an extension of the payroll tax holiday. And the overall package will deepen the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars by extending the overwhelming majority of the Bush tax cuts. Many Democrats had opposed those measures in 2001 and 2003. Obama agreed to extend them in 2010.